Measuring devices, particularly field devices, for example, a sensor or an actuator may comprise an operation device or a user interface for operating the sensor. The user interface or the operating tool may be arranged distant from the sensor. In one example, the sensor may be connected to the user interface via a field bus or a field device bus.
This may mean that a user interface that may make it possible to communicate with the measuring device may be provided in an operation device, particularly an evaluation device. The user interface may be a command line on the evaluation device, but the user interface may also be a graphical user interface (GUI). In other words, the user interface may be implemented as a command line on the evaluation device or as a graphical user interface.
Examples of graphical user interfaces may be the operating tools AMS by Emerson, PDM by Siemens or PACTware™ by PACTware Consortium e.V.
In order to integrate a measuring device, a measuring apparatus or a field device of different manufacturers into the operating tools, the respective manufacturer of the field device may provide a user interface that is adapted to the corresponding field device in the form of a specific device description for the measuring apparatus and/or the field device bus.
The device description may be provided, for example, in a description language. The device description in a description language may depend on the respective field device, but may also depend on the respective field device bus, on which the respective field device should be used. A field device bus may be based on a field device bus protocol.